Does the Earth exist for the benefit of humanity? Do humans have any ethical obligations with respect to the natural world? Have we the right to take all the Earth's resources for our own use? Do we have a responsibility to be good stewards over the Earth? Do other species have an intrinsic right to exist? Do trees have legal standing? What do various religions have to say about humanity's relationship to the rest of the living world? These and similar questions are addressed in the study of environmental ethics. Also referenced here is a page on environmental backlash, with information on various movements that take the viewpoint that environmentalists are too extreme, and the Earth is meant to be used by humans. The material in this section has general application, not restricted to the California environment as the rest of this site is.
The Tragedy of the Commons. This is the full text of the famous article by Garrett Hardin, on the dilemmas involved in the use of common resources.
The land ethic: one approach to the question of our relationship with the natural world was put forth by Aldo Leopold, a forester, wildlife manager, professor, conservationist, and author, who said that we as a society accept that we have ethical obligations to other individuals, and to society as a whole, and that the next stage for society was to develop a land ethic, which would affirm our ethical obligation to the land. He said that we need to enlarge "the boundaries of the community to include the soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively, the land...A land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow members, and also respect for the community as such" (From A Sand County Almanac, first published in 1949 by Oxford University Press).
A series of lectures on the Ethical Legacy of Aldo Leopold is available from Oregon State University. It includes lectures on topics such as "Thinking Like an Ocean: Extending Leopold's Land Ethic to the Sea" by Jane Lubchenko, and The Land Ethic: key philosophical and scientific challenges by J. Baird Callicott. The text of some of the lectures is available on line; to access these, go to Presentations.
For some of the earliest American writings on our relations with the natural world, see Electronic Archive of Selected Writings Ralph Waldo Emerson on Nature, including the full text of Nature, written in 1836. Another prominent American writer on nature and wilderness was Henry David Thoreau. Here is the complete text of his famous book Walden, on the two years he lived in a cabin on the wooded shore of Walden Pond. Other writings and links to web information on Thoreau may be found in this page from the Ecology Hall of Fame.
Religion and the Environment. In 1967, UCLA history professor Lynn White wrote that the roots of the environmental crisis lay in the Judeo-Christian ethic, which asserted man's dominion over all living creatures. Is Christianity to blame for the destruction of the natural environment? How do different religions approach our relationship with the natural world?
One of the most passionate advocates for wilderness was John Muir, who believed that humans were a part of nature, rather than its ruler. Muir's love for the natural world, including its beauty and its savagery, comes through in all his writings. The world was not created solely for man's use, according to Muir, but exists apart from humans, complete in its own right. Muir's Writings include an essay on Man's Place in the Universe ( "A numerous class of men are painfully astonished whenever they find anything, living or dead, in all God's universe, which they cannot eat or render in some way what they call useful to themselves"), musings on mountains, nature, humans and God in Mountain Thoughts, and many books and shorter works on nature, wilderness, and our relationship with the rest of the natural world. Full texts of many of these works are available at this site. "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike". -- The Yosemite (1912).
Environmental Justice. The environmental justice movement is concerned that all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups have equal access to a clean, healthy environment. This page summarizes briefly some of the issues in the environmental justice movement, with links to associations of indigenous peoples and other groups working on these issues, as well as to academic and government agency sources of information.
Environmental Ethics is a brief discussion from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics "Our mission is to forge a socially responsible value system for the Forest Service based on a land ethic which ensures ecologically and economically sustainable resource management."
Resources on environmental ethics includes full-text articles from philosophy journals, a variety of interesting articles on several environmental issues, and extensive bibliographies of web and print sources.
Environmental Ethics Resources on the Web, from the University of British Columbia, has links to many academic resources.
Bibliographies on Environmental Ethics, by Timothy C. Weiskel at the Harvard Divinity School, lists many scholarly readings on environmental ethics and related subjects. This is useful for someone doing serious academic research.
Still more information on environmental ethics and philosophy , and information on the academic study of environmental ethics and philosophy, from the University of North Texas.
Environmental Backlash. Many people say that environmentalists go too far, that the Earth and all its species exist for the use of humanity. For a look at another point of view, here are some links to proponents of the "wise-use" movement and similar viewpoints.
This page is very much a work in progress. I would be very interested in hearing of pertinent pages to link to. I am especially looking for pages that discuss the view point of different religions and belief systems (especially Islam, and non-Western beliefs) with regard to the environment.
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Comments, Questions, or Suggestions? Email: J.R. Thorngren
(but I can't do calculations for you...or do your homework)
06/07/06
The grizzly bear is the state animal of California, and is the bear on the California flag. There are no grizzly bears in the wild in California today. The last one in the state was killed in 1922, or possibly in 1924.